jueves, abril 14, 2016

Harassment of Cuban doctor and journalist Eduardo Herrera Duran.

HRF to Cuba: Stop
Harassing Dissident Doctor

Human Rights Foundation
(HRF) strongly condemns the continued harassment of Cuban doctor and journalist
Eduardo Herrera Duran. In March, Herrera — a surgeon at the Calixto García
University Hospital in Havana and a deputy editor for the Hablemos Press
independent news agency — was barred from leaving the country to attend a human
rights conference in the Czech Republic. Herrera was unable to board his plane
after state agents stopped him at the airport and claimed that he needed further
authorization to travel.

Dr Eduardo Herrera Duran ( Hablemos Press)

“In 2012, Cuba began to allow some dissidents
to travel abroad, but this new rule seldom applies to medical doctors who
disagree with the government. Journalists, dissidents, and activists like
Herrera often find themselves helpless when the authorities, targeting them for
their work, prevent them from leaving the country,” said HRF president Thor
Halvorssen. “Doctor Herrera is clearly being targeted for his role in
condemning the farce of Cuba’s ‘significant achievements’ in areas like health
care,” said Halvorssen.

In December, the Cuban
government reinstated a travel permit requirement for health professionals. In
violation of their fundamental right to freedom of movement, medical
specialists are now required to obtain permission from health ministry
officials in order to leave the country. Herrera requested the travel permit
two months in advance of his departure and was never informed that the
officials had arbitrarily rejected his request.
In a phone call yesterday, Herrera informed HRF that he has once again
filed a travel permit request to attend HRF’s Oslo Freedom Forum in May.

HRF is a nonpartisan
nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a
focus on closed societies.